Merry Christmas!

This is my second snowy, wintery, white Christmas as part of my 100 weeks journey. I had planned to be in the glorious heat of an Australian summer this year, but as they are prone to do, plans changed at the last minute, and instead, after Christmas Island I headed for Europe and a week in chilly Iceland.

I flew back from Reykjavik to London on the 23rd, and stayed with Martin and Rachel, and after a night out to see a comedy show in the city, yesterday we drove north through a cold, snowy, foggy England, arriving at mum's house in Darlington just after 8pm.

She had no idea I was coming along with the other two, as I had not been in contact for a while, leaving her with the impression that I was now in Australia. She was very surprised, and pleased too I am glad to say! Although there was some discussion that there is no spare room for me, and therefore I am sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor - it's just like couchsurfing!

I am the first up and about on Christmas morning, and it's a snowy view out of the kitchen window - my second white Christmas in two years. Last year I was in Vancouver for Christmas, staying with Duncan and Denise, preparing to go and work in a soup kitchen. This year I have no goals to fulfil here, and am just happy to be back home to be able to spend some time with my family. The last time I was here for Christmas was 8 years ago, in 2001, when Laura and I said our goodbyes to everyone, leaving the next day to emigrate from England to Australia.

I have been thinking about the past year since Vancouver last Christmas, and the dual nature of how the passage of time feels. It seems almost like it was just yesterday, the time seems to have gone so quickly, but it also seems like a lifetime ago, when I think about how much I have fitted in since then, where I have been, what I have done, and the people I have met. It really has been the most outstanding year.

From Vancouver I went up to Whitehorse dog-sledding, and in the new year drove back down the west coast of the USA, flew to Hawaii, on to Japan, and eventually back to Australia. I had a few months down under, and then set off on my travels again, back to Europe, through France, England and Spain, and then on to the USA again, visiting Mexico too. In August I flew briefly back to the UK, then back to travel around the western US States. I then headed down to Mexico, and on to Malaysia, China, Thailand and then Christmas Island, finally heading back to the UK and Iceland.

I have seen some incredible places, and had some wonderful experiences too. However, for me this whole big adventure is just as much, if not more, about the people I meet along the way. I have been incredibly fortunate to meet some wonderful people through my travels, many of whom have joined in with one or more goals, or helped me on my way.

I have no goals to attend to from my list while here in the UK, and simply plan to enjoy a few days "off" from the 100 weeks' tasks. I will be doing a bit of travelling, going back to Scarborough to visit friends there, and eventually back to London before New Year's Eve. I fly on New Year's Day down to South Africa, and have a few goals planned there. But for the next few days I am going to have some time off from the blog, and not think too much about my goals list.

So to everyone who I have met on my adventures, to all friends and family, and to anyone else who bothers to read my travel ramblings, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas, and a prosperous New Year.

See you again in 2010.

Best wishes,

Ian
25th December 2009

Hot and cold water.

My last day in Iceland started in the dark again at the lovely little hostel in Vik. I headed down to the shore for a quick look around as it started to get light, and then headed onward, pausing to take a quick photo of the lookout point where I had watched the Northern Lights, as the previous evening I had had no idea of the layout of the land there.



From Vik I drove back towards Reykjavik, turning off to see the impressive Gullfoss waterfall. It's about a half hour drive inland from the coastal road, and the temperature dropped all the way to around minus 7 degrees. At the falls the wind was howling across the semi-frozen falls towards the lookout, and despite the very spectacular view, I could only stand the cold for about ten minutes. Taking photos was very cold on the fingers!



The wind and cold had covered everything that faced the falls with a layer of ice, and the rope barriers, the rocky ground and the icy grass all looked very beautiful in the low sunlight.



Next stop was Geysir, an impressive area of hot springs and geysers, an unusual mix of boiling water and solid sheet ice. The main geyser iitself is called Geysir, but this does not spout very often at all. However, right by it, Strokkur does so on a very regular basis, around every 5 to eight minutes or so.



The pool bubbles quietly for a while, and then as pressure builds, caused by bubbles filling the tube below, and then water rushing in and getting super-heated, the geyser explodes in a very spectacular fashion.



On my return to Reykjavik I dropped of Magnus's spare winter clothes that he had lent me, dropped off the car, and headed home to pack for my flight back to London early tomorrow.

My week in Iceland has been great, it is quite an unusual and fascinating place. I'm not sure that it is somewhere that I could ever choose to live though, it's just too cold. I much prefer the shorts-and-t-shirt warmer weather, I think.

Many thanks to all who have made my stay here such fun. Particular thanks to Magnus and Hildur, my wonderful couchsurfing hosts, and thanks too to Berglind, Inga and Tim.

Goal 69 lights up the sky (dimly!)

After my iceberg trip I stopped at the tiny little town of Vik, about halfway back to Reykjavik, and almost at the southern-most point of Iceland. At the youth hostel there I was the only guest for the night - it is very quiet here in the winter.

After checking in I asked the German couple who were running the place about the Northen Lights. The last time they had seen them was in October! Oh dear. However, tonight was the best forecast for aurora activity for several weeks.

From Wikipedia, "Auroras are the result of the emissions of photons in the Earth's upper atmosphere, above 80 km (50 miles), from ionized nitrogen atoms regaining an electron, and oxygen and nitrogen atoms returning from an excited state to ground state. They are ionized or excited by the collision of solar wind particles being funneled down and accelerated along the Earth's magnetic field lines; excitation energy is lost by the emission of a photon of light, or by collision with another atom or molecule."

So the two key factors are the strength of the solar wind, and the Earth's magnetic field. The strength of the solar wind goes through a ten or eleven year cycle, and at the moment is at the weakest point in the cycle. It will be at it's strongest again around 2014 or 2015. (Ref: NASA Solar Cycle Prediction) As if this goal isn't tricky enough already, this makes it even more of a challenge.

I have been keeping a regular watch over the week on the SpaceWeather.com pictures of aurora activity, and things seem to change very quickly, but being based in the city, and without a car to dash out to a dark area, it's all very difficult. Their current picture of aurora activity can be found further down the left hand side of the SpaceWeather.com page. Here are two different pictures from last night, just an hour and a quarter apart (Iceland can be seen to the right of the picture, just below the 3 o'clock line):-



The one on the left, at 10.20pm last night is the brightest I have ever seen it!

Another useful source for aurora forecasts is the Geophysical Institute of Alaska University, whose forecast for last night, 21st December 2009 can be found here. Their forecast for last night was the best so far during the week that I have been here, but is still only a prediction of very weak activity.

So I wrapped up warm in all my layers again and drove out from the hostel to the top of the hill outside the town, and made myself as comfortable as possible in the stormy wind-buffeted car.

Being at the very south of Iceland, predictions were for low level lights on the northern horizon, but at 11pm there was no sign of anything. I decided to give it an hour or so, and at 11.20 I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me, as the horizon looked much lighter. Maybe my eyes were getting accustomed to the dark?

But as I watched I could see the light changing and shifting. It was a very pale white light, perhaps with the tiniest tint of green, and changes were slow and subtle. The appearance was as if cars with very dim headlights were moving slowly around behind the horizon.

I watched as the light moved and brightened along the horizon, and got out of the car for a few minutes. It was incredibly windy, and I was soon back inside!

The whole effect was very subtle, and slightly disappointing, having seen some amazing pictures of the show the lights can put on.

Just after midnight the lights dimmed, and I was about to give up and head home, when they brightened again slightly more towards the north-west, putting on the best show so far. Ten minutes later the horizon was dark again, and I drove back to the hostel.

I tried taking a couple of pictures, but my little camera is not up to the job, and all I got was a black screen. And to be honest, they would be uninspiring at best even if I could have captured what I saw. I think perhaps much further north in Iceland might have been quite good last night.

I am pleased to have actually seen the lights, having had to put quite a bit of effort into doing so, but think that one day I might like to achieve this goal in a better fashion, and see much more spectacular displays. Maybe I will get the opportunity in a few years time, when sunspot activity is higher? But for now I am satisfied to have done the best I can under the circumstances.

For some pretty amazing pictures of how the lights can look when they do put on a dispaly, take a look here:-
Iceland Worldwide

Goal 68 - Iceberg adventure.

Car hire in Iceland seems outrageously expensive, and for a while I was trying to co-ordinate a trip with a couple of other fellow couchsurfers, sharing car and fuel costs, but one person changed their mind, and another never made it to Iceland at all, as her flight was cancelled.

So it was back to the drawing board again. I suggested to a few of my contacts here that they might like to come on a trip, but most of them have to deal with the inconvenience of a job, and nobody that I know here could join me.

I had considered the bus, but there is only one bus during the week, which goes to Hofn, past where I want to be. And the cost one-way is a ludicrous 11.900 Icelandic Krona - that's over $100. A flight from Reykjavik to Hofn is only a little bit more, at 13,900 ISK. But in winter there are no tours from Hofn to the lagoon I wanted to go to, so a car was the only option.

I had been given the phone number of a person who hires out their own car on a slightly cheaper, and much less formal basis than the car hire places, and I gave her a call last night. A deal was struck, and this morning Hildur dropped me off there just before 9am, and I was surprised to be simply handed the key, even before I had been to the bank to change some money, and was told where the car was.

I had a bit of an issue at the bank, when they refused to change my Australian Dollars ("We don't take them!") but after a couple of tries I found a card in my wallet that produced some cash from the ATM. I paid for the car, and without any form of ID or paperwork being required, I was on my way. I didn't ask any questions - I'm sure the whole arrangement falls into somewhat of a gray area legally, but I was happy with the price I was paying.

It was still dark as I headed south-west out of the city, and a couple of hours later, as the sky brightened and an orange dawn revealed the bleak landscape, I passed through the tiny town of Vik, where I intended to return for the evening.



Another couple of hours driving eventually brought me to my destination, Jokulsarlon, or Glacier Lagoon at the foot of Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajokull. The thermometer in the car had been reading between minus 4 and minus 9 degrees Centigrade for most of the journey, but a howling wind had made it feel much colder every time I had stopped to take a picture.



I wrapped up as warm as I could, adding extra layers to both body and legs, and headed out for a look around. The lagoon has been created by the glacier, and as huge chunks of ice break from the end of the glacier, they float into the lagoon, and sail around until they melt enough to get through the narrow lagoon outlet to the sea. The lagoon has been measured to be 190 metres deep in places.

In winter the lagoon becomes frozen over, and the boat trips that run during summer are closed. There were still patches of water, but all of the icebergs were frozen in place, and there was the occasional creaking and groaning as the wind tried to shift the looser ones.

There wasn't a single other person there - no wonder really, as it was incredibly cold, but a clear sunny sky lit up the icebergs and sheets of ice in dazzling whites and blues. It was very beautiful, and when out of the wind behind a hill, silent and peaceful.



I walked for an hour and a half, but time ran out, as the sun set at 3.30pm ,and it started to get dark again. It's only been light officially for just over four hours, and is the shortest day of the year. This is the furthest north I have ever been, just below the Arctic Circle, so today has officially been the shortest day of my life!



I walked as far as the end of the glacier itself, where the newest, biggest icebergs are locked in the ice. From far away they had looked small, but close up they towered impressively, and it is quite staggering to think that nine-tenths of their bulk is hidden under the water, and below that lies the deep dark, icy cold depths of the lagoon. It would be awesome to dive under the ice around the icbergs! Maybe something for the next list?



Like some of my other goals, this one has been a little harder to arrange than I thought it might be, and cost quite a bit more, but that makes it all the more satisfying to eventually achieve.

What a beautiful place, and incredible to have all to myself, even if only for the shortest day!

Reykjavik nights.

I have done a bit more exploring in the short daylight hours, and Magnus took me to Perlan, a very unusual building high on a hill, with a great outlook over the city. Later in the afternoon we drove out of the city to the lighthouse at the end of the rocky headland. It still surprises me how little distance you have to travel to be completely away from the city.



After my interview with reporter Sara, my story appeared in the local newspaper, Frettabladid, and I was contacted by Heimir via emeail, who was interested in meeting for a coffee. He lives quite close to Magnus, it turned out, and we met in Mjodd at a cafe and chatted for a while.

Later, having been at Magnus's house for three days, it was time to move on, and my couchsurfer host friend Hildur collected me. On the way to her house I asked if we could stop off at the swimming pool quickly, as I thought I had left my shampoo bottle there. I had to put blue plastic shoe protectors on to go to the changing rooms to check the lost property there, and decided to check the shower stall I had used too, just to be sure it wasn't still there.

Coming out of the showers, I hear someons shouting "Ian, Ian!" and turned to see Heimir again. Reykjavik seems to be a very small town! I wish I could have got a photo of the moment, as it must have looked so odd, me in my full winter gear, blue plastic bags on my feet, shaking hands and chatting with a completely naked guy in the shower room!



That night I tagged along with Hildur, and her friend Berglind, and we went to the movie to see "Avatar". I had no idea what the movie was about, and had only seen posters for it, so had no pre-conceptions. It was in 3D, so we wore the special glasses. I was absolutely blown away! It is the most incredible movie, and in 3D you just become immersed in the stunning world that is created before your eyes. I highly recommend it, especially if you can see it in 3D.

Afterwards we wavered between going for a quick drink or not, and decided we would. I have learned that a quick drink in Iceland means partying until 5am! We went to a bar in town, and mid way through the night Hildur said, "Oh look, there's Bjork." I thought she was joking, but no, I was in a small bar in Reykjavic, where Bjork popped in, wandered around, and did a bit of celebrity DJing!

The next day was a very late start, and began with an extremely cold walk into town to collect Hildur's car. We took a drive into the countryside, and stopped off at the "Bridge Between Two Continents", where the European and American tectonic plates meet. We also stopped by the very inviting, but very expensive Blue Lagoon for a quick look.



Later that night we headed out again, meeting up again with Berglind, and fellow Brit now living here, Tim. We were also joined by Inga, and in town saw several Icelandic bands play in concert. The final act was called Hjalmar, and they played some great reggae, with Icelandic lyrics, a very strange combination.



After another 5am finish, it's a very late start this morning, but hey, the sun doesn't rise until 11.30 am, so it's easy to sleep in!

I haven't made much progress yet towards either of my goals here, despite having been out each evening to see if there is any glimmer from the Northern Lights, but conditions are improving for the next few days as the air turns colder, the sky is clear, and the wind has dropped. Hopefully luck will be with me in the next day or two.

Icelandic introduction.

I flew into Reykjavik and took the bus into the city. Already things seemed to be living up to the Icelandic reputation of being expensive - or maybe I have just been in Asia too long, where everything is so cheap. In Kuala Lumpur the hour-long coach journey from airport to city centre costs around $3, here the forty minute trip is more like $15. Welcome back to Europe!

I had managed to get in touch with couchsurfer Magnus at the last minute, and we had swapped a couple of messages back and forth. I gave him a ring, and he said he could collect me at the bus station. After dropping my bags off at his apartment, he took me for a bit of a night-time tour around the city, which is very pretty, all lit up for Christmas.

It isn't as cold as I had expected, temperatures currently just above freezing, but apparently locals are commenting on how unusual that is for this time of the year. The forecast is for colder weather to come.

The next day I took the local bus into the city and spent the afternoon wandering and exploring. The city centre is small, and one or two streets back from the main shopping street you are in quiet residential areas. In the other direction, one block away is the waterfront. The city itself is tiny by most standards, the population being only about 130,000.

I have discovered some surprising things here. The menu in the photo below is for a dinner of peppered whale steak, and I read that Iceland has just given the go-ahead for a controlled level of commercial whaling, apparently necessary to preserve fish stocks. Hmmm. I think it's perhaps slightly hypocritical to offer "majestic whale-watching experiences" to the tourists, when other boats are out slaughtering the same poor creatures for commercial gain. Sorry, that's my soapbox bit done!

The other side of the menu was an eye-opener too. The "Wild Game Menu" offers a starter of either smoked duck, marinated goose or smoked puffin (!!) followed by reindeer as the main course. Poor Rudolf!



On the hill above the city centre there is a huge, spectacular church called Hallgrimskirkja, that can be seen from almost anywhere, and later in the afternoon, when it started getting dark again, I went up the tower to see the city from above.



It isn't light for very long here in the winter. I was amazed when I woke at around 9am that it was still completely dark outside, and it was well after 10am before it even started to get light. It was going dark again not long after 3pm!

Official figures here for the shortest day are as follows:
December 21st 2009 - Reykjavik, Iceland
Sunrise: 11.23am
Sunset: 3.29pm
Hours of daylight: 4 hrs 6 mins.
Source: time and date.com



At 5pm I found the cafe where I was meeting Sara, a reporter from local newspaper Frettabladid, and was also joined by Hildur and her friend, whose name I have no idea how to spell! Hildur is another couchsurfer who lives here in Reykjavic, and was introduced to me by another contact here who I know via my ALife4Sale website. It seems that in Reykjavik most people know each other - it is a small place after all.

Today I headed out to one of the geo-thermally heated swimming pools in the city, which was a fantastic experience. Iceland is an active volcanic area, and uses steam from underground to provide electricity and hot water for the whole city. There are natural hot springs and thermally heated pools all over the country.

The one I visited is called Laugardalslaug, and is a fantastic place. There are two 50m lap pools, one inside and one outside, a large play pool with slide, and then a selection of hot tubs and a steam room. After a swim I followed the suggested system of the coolest hot tub first, then sitting in the cold as long as you can, before getting in the next hottest tub. The four tubs are at 38 deg C, 40, 42 and 44. Getting in the last one after being in the zero degree outside air for five minutes is wonderfully invigourating!



Afterwards I just lay in one of the warm pools gazing at the sky as it went dark. What a relaxing afternoon. It's a clear night tonight, so there may be a chance to see the Northern Lights later, but the aurora forecast for Iceland isn't good at the moment. Maybe over the weekend, the forecast suggests.

Finally some random Iceland facts gleaned from the IcelandAir in-flight magazine:-
- Iceland boasts the world's highest literacy rate, at 99.9%.
- Covering 11% of Iceland, Vatnajokull is Europe's largest glacier.
- Reykjavik is the world's most northern capital, and over 85% of it's energy is supplied by clean and sustainable resources, such as geothermal power, earning it the reputation as cleanest capital in the world.